HHS Girl’s Golf Team Builds Up to 13 Members 

This year’s girls’ golf team featured mostly new faces. The team included one returner: senior Peyton Criss. 

Sophomore Adalyn Lakin enjoyed bonding with a much larger team than what the program has had in the past and loved the environment surrounding the team. She believed the coaching was very spread out and fair.

“Having a larger team made (playing golf) more fun because there are more girls to laugh and talk with,” Lakin said.

Junior Sophia Jarmer credits the two girls’ golf coaches, head coach Anna Cafferty and assistant coach Shelby Jarzynka, for the team’s improvement on the technical side of the sport.

“(The team made) so much improvement. We started out whiffing the ball. Golf is so hard. (The coaches were) very supportive and if we missed the ball, they were like, ‘All right, take a practice swing and you got it,’” Jarmer said. “And then we got to a point where we weren’t missing balls anymore and then went to the point where it’s not about if you hit the ball, it’s aim. We kept stepping up.” 

Having a larger team than in recent years helped the girls to make more connections through the sport.

“It was more fun because there were more people to interact with and get involved with the sport. You could help each other out and communicate,” Oliver said.

Anyone can participate in golf regardless of experience, skill, or finances.

“The school has clubs that anybody can borrow, and then we had almost everybody but three girls on our team this year had never swung a club before, and we all played fine,” Jarmer said. 

The team added 12 members to the team this year after having two last year. 2024 varsity letter winners include Addison Hermes, Laura Kate Oliver, Peyton Chris, Sophia Jarmer, Kaylann Waters, and Lillian Jensen. 

“(Criss said) practice was just so different and way more individualized, whereas with 13 other girls, you kind of have to split it up more,” Oliver said. “So I guess that was kind of a con, but the pro to it is there’s so many people you can learn from. And you get to have more opportunities with more players.” 

Golf has an intense schedule over a few months, so athletes miss about two days of school per week during this time.

“Golf is really hard because it’s a lot of meets in a really short time. We were gone from like six a.m. to six p.m., so you miss an entire day of school, so making sure that you stay focused when you’re in class and coming in and using your T3s and things like that were super helpful,” Oliver said.

Jamer said that golf is as much of a mental sport as a physical one when playing 18 holes. Being able to shake off a bad hole was an obstacle the team faced this year.

“Going into the season I didn’t realize how long the days were and how long it takes to play 18 holes, so it gets really tiring, and it’s definitely frustrating,” Jarmer said. “Oh my gosh, it’s a frustrating sport, but you have people there to support you.”

Senior Laura Kate Oliver said the team’s supportive culture overcame their lack of experience. The newcomers’ determination and effort allowed the team to take strides throughout the season to become better golfers.

“I think (the season) was successful in the fact that everyone improved and had fun. There are all different ages and levels of golfers. We had freshmen through seniors who were on varsity,” Oliver said. “It’s just super welcoming and inviting. We always had fun at practice, and meets were always super fun too.”